Luther

Idris Elba (Actor) .. DCI John Luther

Born: September 06, 1972

Best Known For: The Wire and Luther.

Early-life: Born Idrissa Akuna Elba on September 6, 1972, in Hackney, London. His father, Winston, is from Sierra Leone and worked in a car factory; his mother, Eve, is Ghanian and held a clerical position. Idris became interested in music at an early age, helping his uncle run his mobile DJ business in the 1980s; shortly afterwards, he and his friends began their own company. He acted with the National Youth Music Theatre before turning professional.

Career: Elba's earliest roles came in Crimewatch UK reconstructions, 2point4 Children, Absolutely Fabulous and Bramwell. He spent a couple of years in Channel 5 soap Family Affairs and featured in Ultraviolet and Dangerfield before playing a suave, but doomed, urban gangster in the critically acclaimed The Wire on US TV from 2002 to 2004. The role turned him into a star on both sides of the Atlantic. Projects since include 28 Weeks Later, American Gangster, RocknRolla, The Office (US version), Thor, The Big C, Prometheus and the hugely successful Luther. More recently, he has starred in Pacific Rim, Thor: The Dark World, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and No Good Deed.

Quote: 'I get criticized for taking roles in films like Ghost Rider 2, but if you look at my résumé, dude, I've mixed it up as much as I can. I love to play different roles. That's just the kind of actor I am.'

Trivia: Away from acting, he continues to DJ.

Dermot Crowley (Actor) .. Det Supt Martin Schenk

Born: March 19, 1947 in Cork

Best Known For: A string of roles.

Early-life: Dermot Joseph Crowley was born in Cork on March 19, 1947. In 1976, he made his TV debut in Victorian Scandals. During the 1980s, he had roles in Return of the Jedi (1983) and Octopussy (1983), and appeared on the small screen in Juliet Bravo, C.A.T.S. Eyes, Call Me Mister, Bulman, Echoes and Hannay.

Career: A prolific character actor, Crowley's other TV credits include guest appearances in Boon, Casualty, El C.I.D., Minder, Stay Lucky, Pie in the Sky, Soldier Soldier, Father Ted, Dangerfield, Jonathan Creek, A Touch of Frost and Holby City. More recently, he has starred in New Tricks, Raw, Father Figure, Borgia and Luther. On the stage, he has starred in A Christmas Carol, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Great Britain and Everyman.

Quote: 'I had seen neither Star Wars nor The Empire Strikes Back before working on Return of the Jedi. I think I would have been completely overawed if I had.'

Trivia: Crowley auditioned for the role of Doctor Who that eventually went to Sylvester McCoy.

Michael Smiley (Actor) .. Benny Silver

Best Known For: A string of roles.

Early-life: Michael was born in Belfast in 1963 to Alice and Frank and grew up in Holywood in Co Down, Northern Ireland. He has a brother, John, and a sister, Collette. Michael worked on various building sites before landing a job as a cycle courier. He began doing stand-up in 1993 after accepting a bet at an open-mic night. He was performing one-man shows in Edinburgh when he got the chance to make his acting debut in the Channel 4 sitcom Spaced.

Career: Acting roles for Smiley followed in the likes of Time Gentlemen Please, 15 Storeys High, Hustle, Rose and Maloney, Nearly Famous, Law & Order: UK and Doctor Who. On the big screen, he has starred in Shaun of the Dead (2004), Outpost (2007), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Burke and Hare (2010), Kill List (2011), The World's End (2013), The Lobster (2015) and Orthodox (2016). He has had recurring roles in Bleak House, Wire in the Blood, Father Figure and Luther. He indulges his passion for bikes in the travel series Something to Ride Home About.

Quote: 'I spent a long time not knowing what I wanted to do and being fearful of life and worrying about not being able to support my wife and family.'

Trivia: Smiley shared a flat with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the 1990s.

Rose Leslie (Actor) .. DS Emma Lane

Born: February 09, 1987 in Aberdeen

Best Known For: Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey.

Early-life: Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie was born in Aberdeen on February 9, 1987 to parents of Scottish nobility. She was raised at Lickleyhead Castle in Aberdeenshire. Rose went on to attend a public school in England and it was here that she developed a passion for acting. She went on to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She made her TV acting debut in the 2007 documentary Locked Up Abroad, and won a Scottish Bafta Award for her performance in the 2009 TV movie New Town.

Career: Leslie's breakthrough role came as housemaid Gwen Dawson in ITV drama Downton Abbey. Since then, she has starred in HBO drama Game of Thrones, Channel 4 drama Utopia and ITV drama The Great Fire. More recently, she has starred in Luther. Her film credits include Now Is Good (2012) and The Last Witch Hunter (2015). In 2010, she starred in Bedlam at the Globe Theatre.

Quote: 'I believe that we're not alone. How can we be alone in an infinite universe?'

Trivia: Leslie is fluent in French.

Laura Haddock (Actor) .. Megan Cantor

Born: August 21, 1985 in London

Best Known For: The Inbetweeners Movie and Da Vinci's Demons.

Early-life: Laura Jane Haddock was born in London on August 21, 1985. She trained at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick. She made her TV debut in a Comedy Showcase pilot called Plus One.

Career: Haddock's TV credits include Honest, The Palace, The Colour of Magic, Agatha Christie's Marple, Monday Monday and How Not to Live Your Life. She raised her profile in 2011 when she starred in The Inbetweeners Movie. Since then, she has starred in Upstairs Downstairs, Missing, Dancing on the Edge, Da Vinci's Demons and Luther. Her film credits also include Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Quote: 'I see my daft surname as a positive thing. It first dawned on me that I had a comical name when someone called me 'Fishface' on my first day at school. I've heard all the fish jokes since then, many times over.'

Trivia: Haddock was nominated in the Best Female Newcomer category at the 2012 Empire Awards for her role in The Inbetweeners Movie.

Patrick Malahide (Actor) .. George Cornelius

Born: March 24, 1945 in Reading

Best Known For: Playing Detective Sergeant Chisholm in Minder and a string of other roles.

Early-life: Born Patrick Gerald Duggan in Reading on March 24, 1945. In 1976, he made his TV acting debut in The Flight of the Heron. Since then, the prolific character actor has appeared in a number of TV shows.

Career: Perhaps best known for playing Detective Sergeant Chisholm in the hugely popular ITV comedy drama Minder, Malahide's credits also include The Singing Detective, Middlemarch, Alleyn Mysteries, Five Days, Law & Order: UK, The Paradise and Hunted. More recently, he has starred in Game of Thrones, Indian Summers and Luther. His film credits include The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), The World is Not Enough (1999) and Billy Elliot (2000). Writing as PG Duggan, he created the BBC TV movie Reasonable Force and the miniseries The Writing on the Wall. Malahide's numerous stage credits include roles in The Crucible, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Beauty and the Beast, The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya and Mutabilitie.

Quote: 'If I'm walking past a building site, I get 'Oi, Chisholm' from Minder fans. But if I go to a library, a female librarian will flutter her eyelashes at me because she remembers Middlemarch.'

Trivia: Malahide was nominated for a Bafta TV Award for his role in The Singing Detective.

Mark Carey (Actor) .. Jimmy Segar

Lorraine Hilton (Actor) .. June Segar

John Heffernan (Actor) .. Steven Rose

Tommy French (Actor) .. Declan Segar

Ash Rizi (Actor) .. Mohan Rai

Annabel Bates (Actor) .. Tara Black

Selin Hizli (Actor) .. Stacey Bell

Hannah Bourne (Actor) .. Katie Woodward

Emma Fischer (Actor) .. Hannah Woodward

Luke Ward-Wilkinson (Actor) .. Owen Woodward

Ben Abell (Actor) .. Sean Woodward

Marcus Wilson (Producer)

Sam Miller (Director)

Neil Cross (Writer)

12:20 am - 01:40 am, Today on U&Drama +1 (60)

About this Broadcast

Season 4, Episode 2

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